Girls Testify In Fajardo Rape Trial

A Huron bar owner heard the girls he's accused of raping testify against him in a Beadle County court on Thursday.

A 13-year-old and two 15-year-olds said Werner Fajardo served them alcohol in his bar after hours last year and raped them.

The state told jurors that the three alleged victims in this case, two of which were 14-years-old at the time and one of which was 12-years-old, were interviewed at separate times and hadn’t shared details of what happened to each other. But still their stories match.

The defense is asking jurors to consider whether the allegations against Fajardo are proven.

Fajardo is still saying he isn't guilty of the crimes. But the three girls who testified against him on Thursday say he did rape them.

One of the girls said she woke up to Fajardo having sex with her last October in his bar after he'd served her and two friends alcohol. Another girl said she woke in the same bar with pain in her private area and a condom next to her. And a third girl said she woke that same early morning with her pants down and Fajardo performing oral sex on her.

But Fajardo's defense picked out inconsistencies in the girls' stories. Two of the girls said Fajardo picked them up and drove them behind his bar the night the alleged crimes occurred. Another said they walked over from a block away.

The defense also said some memories the girls shared in court on Thursday were things they hadn't initially told law enforcement or workers at Child's Voice in Sioux Falls.

Still, the prosecution argues there are a lot of similarities in the details between the girls’ stories. And the girls said they hadn't shared those details with each other.

The state says Fajardo took advantage of the three girls. But his defense argues they have evidence to suggest he simply let them in his bar when they needed a place to go.

A father of one of the girls also testified on Thursday. He said he noticed sudden changes in his daughter's behavior after the night she was allegedly raped. But he didn't know what was wrong until his daughter told him what happened days later.